Market researchers have had a field day identifying the colors and the likely effect they have upon us. However, the effects of color differ among different cultures, so your target audience should be a consideration when you plan your design of any promotional materials.

For example, white is the color of death in Chinese culture, but purple represents death in Brazil. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signified sadness in Greece and jealousy in France. In North America, green is typically associated with jealousy. People from tropical countries respond most favorably to warm colors, people from northern climate prefer the cooler colors.

>Basically, in North American mainstream culture, the following qualities are associated with color:
> Red: excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger
> Blue: trust, reliability, belonging, coolness
> Yellow: warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
> Orange: playfulness, warmth, vibrant
> Green: nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
> Purple: royal, spirituality, dignity
> Pink: soft, sweet, nurture, security
> White: pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild
> Black: sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
> Gold: prestige, expensive
> Silver: prestige, cold, scientific


Market researchers have also determined that color affects shopping habits. Impulse shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue. Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastel - pink, rose, sky blue.

One more thing about color. A rather high percentage of the population is color bind. To be sure that your material can be read by someone with color blindness, try converting your image to black and white or grayscale.


1. Take a look at this chart to validate with an HTML or a CSS validator, W3C has listed 16 color names that you can use: aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, gray, green, lime, maroon, navy, olive,
purple, red, silver, teal, white, and yellow. If you want to use other colors, you must specify their RGB or HEX value. Click Here